scholarly journals Expansion of Vertebrate Pest Exclusion Fencing and Its Potential Benefits for Threatened Fauna Recovery in Australia

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deane Smith ◽  
Kristy Waddell ◽  
Benjamin L. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Threatened Species ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Critically Endangered Species ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Threatened Fauna

The global effort to conserve threatened species relies heavily on our ability to separate these species from the processes that threaten them, and a common tool used for this purpose is exclusion fencing. In Australia, pest animal exclusion fencing has been repeatedly used on conservation land on a small scale to successfully exclude introduced predators and competitors from threatened native fauna populations. However, in recent years, “cluster fencing” on agricultural land has re-emerged on a large scale and is used by livestock producers seeking to reduce predation losses by dingoes (Canis familiaris) and manage total grazing pressure from native and introduced herbivores, including red kangaroos (Osphranter rufus). Given that the primary threats to at-risk native fauna are also predation and overgrazing, there may be potential for cluster fencing on livestock land to achieve additional fauna conservation benefits. Understanding the amount, location and potential conservation value of cluster fenced livestock land is critical for determining how these areas might contribute to broader threatened fauna recovery goals. Drawing from publicly available databases maintained by the Australian Government, we assessed the spatial overlap of threatened species’ distributions with 105 cluster fences erected in Queensland since 2013, which cover 65,901 km2 of land. These cluster fenced areas represent 18 biogeographic subregions and may contain 28 extant threatened mammals, birds and reptiles including 18 vulnerable species, 7 endangered species and 3 critically endangered species. An average of nine threatened species or their habitats were identified per cluster, and over three quarters (78.6%) of these species face at least one threat that is being mitigated within clusters. The true status of threatened and pest species within clusters is largely unknown or unrecorded in most cases, but some examples of pest eradication and threatened species recovery are already emerging. Given the vast size of the cluster fenced estate, the many different biomes and species that it represents and the nature of the threats being removed within these fenced areas, we contend that agricultural cluster fencing may offer an unprecedented opportunity to advance threatened fauna conservation goals for some species at scales previously thought impossible and should be a research priority for threatened species managers.

Species Responses to Grazing and Environmental-Factors in an Arid Halophytic Shrubland Community

1987 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
RB Hacker
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Soil Salinity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Species Responses

Species responses to grazing and environmental factors were studied in an arid halophytic shrubland community in Western Australia. The grazing responses of major shrub species were defined by using reciprocal averaging ordination of botanical data, interpreted in conjunction with a similar ordination of soil chemical properties and measures of soil erosion derived from large-scale aerial photographs. An apparent small-scale interaction between grazing and soil salinity was also defined. Long-term grazing pressure is apparently reduced on localised areas of high salinity. Environmental factors affecting species distribution are complex and appear to include soil salinity, soil cationic balance, geomorphological variation and the influence of cryptogamic crusts on seedling establishment.

scholarly journals Grazing Altered the Pattern of Woody Plants and Shrub Encroachment in a Temperate Savanna Ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyong Zhang ◽  
Bo Zhang ◽  
Xiao Zhang ◽  
Xiaohui Yang ◽  
Zhongjie Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Woody Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Shrub Encroachment ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Adult Trees ◽  
Aggregated Distribution ◽  
Grazing Pressures

Ulmus pumila-dominated temperate savanna is an important tree-grass complex ecosystem in the Otindag sand land, northern China. To date, few investigations have been undertaken on the spatial patterns and structure of this ecosystem and its driving factors under different grazing pressures. The objective of our study therefore is to explore whether grazing has affected the population structure/pattern of woody plants and shrub encroachment in a temperate savanna ecosystem. Results indicate that species richness and seedlings decreased with increasing grazing pressure. An increase in grazing pressure did not significantly affect adult-tree density, but it hindered the normal regeneration of U. pumila seedlings, further inducing population decline. U. pumila seedlings had a more significant aggregated distribution than juvenile or adult trees. The adult and juvenile trees had an aggregated distribution at the small scale and a random distribution at the large scale. Shrubs also showed a significant aggregated distribution. No clear effect on the spatial patterns of adult trees was observed; however, there was a noticeable effect for juveniles and seedlings under different grazing pressures. U. pumila seedlings had a positive association with their juveniles and Spiraea aquilegifolia, but a negative association with Caragana microphylla. Shrub encroachment occurred with decreasing grazing pressures. In conclusion, overgrazing led to the decline of U. pumila population, but the decrease in grazing pressure increased shrub encroachment in the temperate savanna ecosystem. Moderate grazing management may be a better way to enhance the stability of U. pumila population and reduce shrub encroachment.

Scale-dependent patterns of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT M. EWERS ◽  
WILLIAM F. LAURANCE
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Tropical Landscapes ◽  
Isolation Effects ◽  
Formal Test ◽  
Geographical Locations

Tropical forests of the Amazon Basin are being rapidly converted to agricultural land uses and fallow land, resulting in accelerating rates of forest loss in one of the world's most biodiverse ecoregions. This process has been extensively described and modelled, but as yet there has been no formal test of how the spatial patterns of deforested and fragmented areas change with the spatial scale of forest clearings. It was hypothesised that different land-use practices are driving small and large clearings, with small-scale cultivators often creating small, irregularly shaped clearings and large-scale ranchers and soy farmers creating larger, more regular-shaped clearings. To quantitatively test this hypothesis, Mandelbrot's theory of fractals was applied to deforested areas in the Brazilian Amazon to test for scale-invariance in deforestation patterns. The spatial pattern of deforestation differed between small and large clearings, with the former creating more complex landscapes and with a threshold occurring at c. 1200 ha in area. As a consequence, the sizes and shapes of forest clearings, and hence the relative vulnerability of the remaining forest to edge, area and isolation effects, may differ systematically between landscapes with different deforestation drivers. Further tests of this hypothesis are needed to assess its efficacy in other tropical landscapes and geographical locations.

scholarly journals ENGINEERING GEOLOGICAL AND GEOTECHNICAL INVESTIGATION OF LANDSLIDE EVENTS IN WILDFIRE AFFECTED AREAS OF ILIA PREFECTURE, WESTERN GREECE

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Depountis ◽  
S. Lainas ◽  
D. Pyrgakis ◽  
N. Sabatakakis ◽  
G. Koukis
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Site Investigation ◽  
Geological Mapping ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Geotechnical Investigation ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Socio Economic Impact ◽  
Geological Formations ◽  
Western Greece

In August 2007 Ilia Prefecture suffered one of the most devastating wildfires that have ever happened on European level. Approximately 870km2 , mainly forest and agricultural land, were lost, more than 60 people were killed, hundreds were injured and many villages suffered extensive damage. Heavy rainfall and human activities, favoured by the loss of vegetation and the overall susceptibility of geological formations in landsliding, induced the manifestation or reactivation of various scale landslide phenomena. In order to investigate and mitigate the problem University of Patras was commissioned by the Region of Western Greece to undertake an Engineering Geological and Geotechnical investigation. Site investigation accomplished in seven municipalities focusing on several landslide events with serious socio-economic impact and as a result many small scale cases were identified. In each one of these cases large scale engineering geological mapping was conducted and remedial and protection measures were designed.

scholarly journals An Integrated Approach to Assess the Environmental Impacts of Large-Scale Gold Mining: The Nzema-Gold Mines in the Ellembelle District of Ghana as a Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 7044
Author(s):  
Dawuda Usman Kaku ◽  
Yonghong Cao ◽  
Yousef Ahmed Al-Masnay ◽  
Jean Claude Nizeyimana
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Bare Area ◽  
Double Phase ◽  
Gold Producer

The mining industry is a significant asset to the development of countries. Ghana, Africa’s second-largest gold producer, has benefited from gold mining as the sector generates about 90% of the country’s total exports. Just like all industries, mining is associated with benefits and risks to indigenes and the host environment. Small-scale miners are mostly accused in Ghana of being environmentally disruptive, due to their modes of operations. As a result, this paper seeks to assess the environmental impacts of large-scale gold mining with the Nzema Mines in Ellembelle as a case study. The study employs a double-phase mixed-method approach—a case study approach, consisting of site visitation, key informant interviews, questionnaires, and literature reviews, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis method. The NDVI analysis shows that agricultural land reduced by −0.98%, while the bare area increases by 5.21% between the 2008 and 2015 periods. Our results show that forest reserves and bare area were reduced by −4.99% and −29%, respectively, while residential areas increased by 28.17% between 2015 and 2020. Vegetation, land, air, and water quality are highly threatened by large-scale mining in the area. Weak enforcement of mining policies, ineffective stakeholder institution collaborations, and limited community participation in decision-making processes were also noticed during the study. The authors conclude by giving recommendations to help enhance sustainable mining and ensure environmental sustainability in the district and beyond.

scholarly journals Farmers’ Perceptions of Agricultural Land Abandonment in Rural Western New York State

Land ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Kuntz ◽  
Frederic Beaudry ◽  
Karen Porter
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
New York State ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
York State ◽  
Abandoned Land ◽  
The U.S

Over the last century, the U.S. economy has favored large-scale agribusiness over small-scale farming. In some regions, this trend has led to the abandonment of cultivated land, and there is little scholarly literature that discusses how farmers are affected. The goal of this study was to examine Allegany County (NY) farmers’ perceptions of abandoned land and associated correlates. The data were collected through surveys mailed to farmers in Allegany County in 2012. We found that the majority of farmers felt personally affected by abandoned land and expressed the greatest amount of dissatisfaction with the state of the U.S. economy and local, state, and national regulations, especially if they considered themselves Republican. These findings address the sociopolitical significance of abandoned land and contribute to an understanding of how abandoned land affects residents of rural communities who are typically left out of discussions on policies affecting their livelihoods.

scholarly journals Benefit Distribution of Community-Based Infrastructure: Agricultural Roads in Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 2085 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sri Maryati ◽  
Tommy Firman ◽  
An Nisaa’ Siti Humaira ◽  
Yovita Tisarda Febriani
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
Benefit Distribution ◽  
The Road ◽  
Study Approach

Infrastructure development is believed to provide economic benefits, but the distribution of these benefits is still a subject of discussion. Previous studies generally discussed the distribution of benefits of large-scale and top-down infrastructure. In contrast, this paper aims to explore the existence and distribution of the benefits of community-based infrastructure development. This study uses a case study approach with quantitative and qualitative methods. The study reveals that agricultural roads provide time saving and cost reduction. However, the benefits obtained by farmers vary depending on the location of agricultural land in relation to the road. Although the distribution of benefits differs, farmers do not perceive this as an injustice since the route of the road is determined by the farmer group. Moreover, the greater benefits received have to be compensated by certain amounts of contributions by each farmer in terms of land release. This study also reveals that the physical-environmental conditions of the road contribute to the variation of benefits. The results of this study provide an insight into the benefit distribution from small-scale and community-based infrastructure. Such community-based infrastructure development has been proven to be effective as a model for investing in local infrastructure development.

Burnt area estimation for the year 2005 in Borneo using multi-resolution satellite imagery

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Miettinen ◽  
Andreas Langner ◽  
Florian Siegert
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Fire Detection ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Burnt Area ◽  
Active Fire ◽  
Medium Resolution ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Degraded Ecosystems

Humid tropical South-East Asia suffers significant yearly biomass burning. This paper evaluates and compares the results of medium-resolution (MODIS) burnt area mapping and hotspot-based assessment of fire affected areas in Borneo in 2005, using field observations and high resolution Landsat ETM+ data as reference. Based on burnt area mapping, over 600 000 ha burnt in large-scale vegetation fires. Approximately 90% of this burning took place in degraded ecosystems and was related to agricultural land clearing activities or logged over forests. The estimation based on active fire detection (hotspots) resulted in a total burnt area of more than 1.1 million hectares. The reason for this significant difference was that small scale shifting cultivation fires could not be detected in MODIS images. These results indicate that a combination of both methods is required to reliably assess burnt areas in Borneo using medium-resolution MODIS satellite imagery.

scholarly journals A systematic list of mammals of Mizoram, India

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-121
Author(s):  
H. Lalthanzara
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Threatened Species ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Northeast India ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
Extinct Species ◽  
Critically Endangered Species ◽  
Systematic List

A comprehensive systematic list of wild mammals of the state of Mizoram, northeast India, has been collated from historical records, primary and secondary information by incorporating reliable data after personal interview with elderly prominent hunters. A total of 126 species of wild mammals belonging to 32 families under 11 orders, including 8 primate species, 14 herbivores with angulates, among carnivores - 3 ursids, 2 canids, 8 felids, 19 lesser carnivores; and 5 fossoreal, 9 arboreal, 22 rodents, 35 chiropterans and 1 aquatic mammal are listed. Bats (Chiroptera) formed the largest group (28%) with 35 species under 7 families followed by carnivores (25%) with 32 species and rodents (24%) with 30 species. Furthermore, Cetacea, Proboscidae, Scandentia and Pholidota orders were represented by a single species each. The rats and mice family Muridae formed the biggest family with 16 species followed by the vesper bats family Vespertilionidae with 14 species. The list contains three critically endangered species including two locally extinct species, eight endangered species including two locally extinct species, 18 vulnerable species including one locally extinct species and 8 near-threatened species, i.e. a total of 37 threatened species. The list also provides the vernacular name, common English name and scientific name of each species, local status, IUCN (2016-3) threatened category, WPA schedule and CITES appendix were given. Five species were considered as locally extinct; habitat destruction and poaching being the major cause, and therefore, immediate conservative measures are suggested.

scholarly journals Upscaling Pest Management From Parks to Countries: A New Zealand Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ravneel R Chand ◽  
Belinda J Cridge
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Pest Management ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Mass Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Brushtail Possum ◽  
Pest Species

Abstract Worldwide, introduced pest species create significant challenges to native biodiversity and individual health. New Zealand has an extensive history of attempting to protect biodiversity from introduced pests such as the Brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula [Diprotodontia: Phalangeridae]). Success has been achieved on a small scale, but the transition to the whole country management poses new issues. Therefore, this review uses the framework of ‘Predator Free 2050’ to summarize current practices and scrutinize new technologies. Importantly, we include a toxicology focus to the discussion, providing detail on the mechanism(s) of action that inform decisions regarding the pros and cons for the use of various chemical agents. Currently, the New Zealand government supports the use of sodium fluoroacetate (1080) for predator control on a mass scale, but this comes with a social opposition that is not always reflective of the underlying science. Understanding this controversy is vital if new strategies are to be deployed to achieve large-scale pest management. We use New Zealand as a case study in this area because its unique and isolated ecosystem provides a global opportunity for understanding new technologies and best practice.

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